A Chinese submarine test fired a missile in the Pacific Ocean on Monday, Beijing said, after nations in the region warned that China was planning to test an intercontinental ballistic missile.

It was a rare show of Beijing’s military might in the strategically important South Pacific region, where the US, Australia and New Zealand have long been the security partners of choice.

The launch drew immediate condemnation from nations in the region, including Japan, which said it had urged China to reconsider proceeding with the launch.

“At 12:01 pm on July 6, a strategic nuclear submarine of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy successfully launched a … strategic missile carrying a training simulation warhead into the relevant high seas of the Pacific Ocean, accurately landing in the designated sea area,” spokesperson Wang Xuemeng said in a statement posted on a Chinese navy WeChat account.

“This missile test launch is a routine arrangement of China’s annual military training, and relevant countries were informed in advance,” Wang said.

The launch came on the same day that China and Russia were due to begin their annual joint naval exercises off Qingdao, a major military port and seaside resort in China’s east.

It was not immediately clear if the missile launch was part of those drills.

Beijing has stepped up its nuclear development and boosted defence spending in recent years.

According to the Pentagon, China held more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023 and is likely to have more than 1,000 by 2030.

Nations briefed

Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister and a New Zealand government source told AFP earlier on Monday that China was preparing to test-fire a nuclear-capable missile into the Pacific Ocean.

“Yes, China has briefed me. I was personally called by the Chinese ambassador,” Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko said when asked if he had been warned.

A New Zealand government source also told AFP China had alerted them about an upcoming intercontinental ballistic missile test.

They did not make clear where the missile was expected to land.

China’s elite Rocket Force fired a dummy warhead into the sea near French Polynesia in September 2024, its first long-range missile launch over international waters in more than 40 years.

It appeared to be one of China’s advanced Dong Feng-31 missiles, analysts said at the time, a weapon capable of delivering a thermonuclear warhead.

The long-range missile splashed into a patch of ocean long designated a nuclear-free zone under an international treaty.

New Zealand’s Defence Force has privately warned that Beijing’s naval forays and ballistic missile tests would become a “persistent” feature of the Pacific, according to an internal document obtained by AFP last month.

Japan ‘strongly’ urges China to reconsider

Tokyo said that it had strongly urged China to reconsider the test missile launch after the Japanese embassy in Beijing was informed by Chinese authorities before the event.

“We strongly called for a rethink of the ballistic missile test-firing, so that it won’t pose a threat to Japan’s security such as by passing through Japan’s airspace,” a joint government statement said.

“Through close coordination among relevant ministries, we will strive to ensure the safety of our airspace and maritime territory, with the ministry of defence fully prepared for surveillance and monitoring.”

“We expressed serious concerns over China’s increasing military activity,” the statement said.

Missile test risks ‘destabilising’ South Pacific: Australia’s FM

Australia’s foreign minister said that the missile test risks “destabilising” the region.

“Australia has been clear with China that we regard this as destabilising to the region,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters.